We will hear your need for lean execution

Our Process

We use Scrum principles to manage and execute projects. We start with high level sessions for Discovery, Requirements, and System Design. The initial leg work allows us to loosely define a full list of features for the site or system, differentiating between “nice to have” and “required” features. All required features must be deployed on go live date in order for the project to be considered successful. The list of features will be created as part of a plan and broken down into sprints, illustrated below, which are normally 2 weeks long. At the beginning of each sprint we choose the next features to be completed as well as gather additional details for these particular features. We execute sprint by sprint until the project is completed. This process also allows for requirements to surface mid project or for the requirements to evolve as the business evolves.

Sprint Process

Discovery (Evaluation / Prioritization)

We collaborate with the client or an agency if applicable, and prioritize which features to complete in the current sprint.

Requirements

We work closely with the product owner, creative, and marketing teams to gather additional details and requirement changes for the features of the current sprint.

System Design

For corporate websites, the design team (the client’s creative and/or marketing team, an agency, or our in house designers) handles the design of the current sprint’s features. The design team may choose to complete all design work for the entire project in the initial Design phase. For complex websites and systems, we loosely design the architecture based on high level requirements and can either independently define UX or collaborate with 3rd party to define UX of the system. We also map all potential integration points.

Development

Individual features are fully implemented (front and back end). Depending on the size of the project, we will share the completed features with the design team and product owner for review as soon as each feature is completed or at the end of the sprint’s Development phase.

QA

The features of the current sprint are shared with the design team and product owner for sign off. Any issues or bugs reported are put in a queue for Digital Alphas to resolve.

Deploy

For shorter projects, we deploy the site when all features are completed and approved. For projects that are longer (e.g. 6 months) and/or are part of an upgrade for an existing site, the client may want specific features deployed to production as they are completed and approved instead of a single deployment date.

Compatibility is key.

We attack each project with fierce logic, so your custom-built web products fit neatly into every system and platform.

How is content factored into our process?

We include time within the schedule (development stage) for client or partnering agency to provide content so that the site can be reviewed and approved in its entirety prior to launch.

We also recommend providing a draft of content as early as possible so it is easier to visualize the look and feel of the site. A design might look good with “Lorem Ipsum” but not as good once the actual content is added. By adding an early draft, all parties involved may realize early on if there are tweaks needed to a particular layout.

Finally, we look at content from an SEO point of view as to how to structure the HTML, compress images, file naming convention, etc.  But when working with an agency we focus on development and let the agency handle how all the content is structured.